安娜·塞维尔（Anna Sewell）于1820年出生于英国诺福克的雅茅斯，于1878年去世。她的童年时代在伦敦和伦敦郊区度过。出于对人类虐待动物的强烈不满，她写下了《黑骏马》（Black Beauty），以说服人们对马仁慈一些。这是她身患重病的时候花了6年的时间写的，也是她写的唯一一本书。书出版后不久她就去世了，从那时以来这本书销售了3，000多万本。

黑骏马温顺、聪明又强壮，皮毛乌黑发亮，前额上显眼的一点白色皮毛像一颗美丽的白色的星星。然而命运多难、生活无常，作为一匹马，他饱尝了人们所给予的酸甜苦辣······
小说主人公“黑骏马”是一匹漂亮的优种黑马，从小生活在贵族人家，受过良好的训练，性格温顺，而且聪明、机智，主人非常喜欢他。但是好景不长，主人家里有了变故，黑骏马不得不被卖掉。他一连被卖过多次，接触过各种人：有喝多了酒就拿马撒气的醉汉，有动辄抽鞭子的出租马车车夫，有不把动物当回事的野蛮人，也有把动物当成朋友的好人家，尝尽了人间的甜酸苦辣，最后它侥幸有了一个好的归宿。作品揭示了马的内心世界，也有作为马冷眼旁观人类社会的描写。
黑骏马的一生是维多利亚时期各种马的缩影——当过人们的坐骑，在乡间拉过货车，还在伦敦拉过出租马车。小时候，妈妈就告诉他：马一生命运的好坏全得靠运气——遇上好的主人就是他的福气，遇上虐待自己的主人就只好自认倒霉。长大后，黑骏马遇到过好人，也遇到过虐待他的人。他先是被卖给善待马的戈登老爷当坐骑；后来又被卖给了伯爵，那可恶的勒马缰绳成为他最讨厌的东西，也是所有马儿的不幸；拉货车不仅消耗大量的体力，还要受赶车人的鞭打；拉出租马车时，因为人们错误的驾车方式，受尽折磨。最后，黑骏马终于找到了一个善待自己的家，可以安度晚年。

My first home
我的第一个家
The first place I can remember well was a pleasant field with a pond of clear water in it．Trees made shadows over the pond，and water plants grew at the deep end．On one side was another field，and on the other side we looked over a gate at our master's house， which stood by the roadside．At the top of our field were more tall trees，and at the bottom was a fast-running stream．
我记忆中的第一个地方是一大片美丽的田野和一个清澈的池塘。树影倒映在塘中，深水中长着水草。田野的一边连着另一片田野，从另一边越过一道门能看见主人的房子就在路边。田野高处是片高高的树林，低处是一条湍流不息的小河。
While I was young，I lived on my mother's milk，but as soon as I was old enough to eat grass，my mother went out to work during the day and came back in the evening．
我小时候吃妈妈的奶，等我长大了，能吃草了，妈妈就白天出去干活，晚上回来。
There were six other young horses in me field，although they were older than I was．We all galloped together round the field， and had great fun．But sometimes the others would kick and bite．
在这片田野上还有另外6匹年轻的马，他们比我大。我们一起奔跑着穿过田野，非常好玩。不过有时他们会踢打撕咬起来。
'They are young farm horses and haven't learned how to behave，'my mother told me．'You are different．Your father is well known， and your grandfather twice won the most important race at Newmarket．Your grandmother was quiet and gentle，and you have never seen me kick or bite，have you？ I hope you will grow up to be gentle and a willing worker， and never bite or kick．'
他们是年轻的农场马，没学过怎么举手投足，妈妈告诉我，你是不同的。你爸爸很有名，你的祖父曾两次在纽马克特得过最重要的赛马比赛的冠军。你的祖母又安静又温和，你也没看见过我踢人或咬人，是吧？我希望你长大以后能够性情温和、工作勤劳，永远不要踢咬。

I was so greatly surprised that at first I did not see what was happening by the stream， but when I did look， I saw a sad sight．Two fine horses were down，one in the stream and the other on the grass． One rider， who seemed unhurt，was climb-ing out of the water，but the other lay quite still．
我吃惊地看着这一幕，没顾得上看河边的情形。可是当我望过去的时候，看到的则是一幅悲惨的景象。两匹好马倒在那里，一匹在河水里，另一匹在草地上。一个骑手正从水里往外爬，看上去没受伤，但另一个却静静地躺在地上。
'His neck is broken，'said my mother．'I can't understand why men are so fond of this sport．They quite often hurt them-selves and ruin good horses，all for one hare that they could get more easily some other way． But we are only horses， and don't know why men do these things．'
他脖子折断了，我妈妈说。我真不明白为什么人们如此喜爱这种游戏。他们经常伤了自己，也毁了好马，这一切就是为了一只野兔。而他们本可以很容易地以其他方式获得的。不过我们只是马，搞不懂人们为什么这样做。
They carried the dead rider to our master's house， and I heard afterwards that it was George Gordon， the only son of a local landowner， and a fine young man．
他们把死了的骑手抬到我们主人的房子里，后来我听说那是乔治高顿，本地农场主的独生子，一个挺不错的小伙子。
A man from the village came to look at the black horse on the grass．The animal was in great pain and one of his legs was broken．The man began to feel the horse all over，then he shook his head．Someone ran to our master's house and came back with a gun．Soon after， there was a loud bang and a terrible cry，then all was still．The black horse did not move again．
一个人从村里出来看草地上的那匹黑马。那马痛得要命，一条腿断了。那人摸了摸马的全身，然后摇了摇头。有人跑回我们主人的房子，拿来了一枝枪。随后是一声巨响和一声可怕的长嘶，一切便都静了下来。那匹黑马一动不动了。
My mother was very unhappy．'I've known that horse for years，'she said．'His name was Rob Roy．He was a good brave horse．'She never went near that end of the field again．
我妈妈非常不高兴。我认识那马有好几年了，她说，他叫罗伯罗伊，是一匹勇敢的好马。她从此再没靠近过那片田野。
Not many days after，we heard the church bell and saw a long，strange black carriage，pulled by black horses．they were taking the body of young George Gordon to the churchyard to bury him．He would never ride again．I never knew what they did with Rob Roy，but it was all for one little hare．
没过几天，我们听到了教堂的钟声，还看见一辆长长的、奇怪的黑色马车，被几匹黑马拉着。他们是在把年轻的乔治高顿的遗体运到墓地去埋掉。他永远不能再骑马了。我不知他们对罗伯罗伊是怎么处置的，但这一切都不过是为了一只小野兔。